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Chapter 13 Notes: The Bureaucracy – Government by the
People
What Is a Bureaucracy?
A bureaucracy is way of administratively organizing large numbers of people who need to work
together. Organization in the public and private sector, including universities and governments,
rely on bureaucracies to function. The term bureaucracy literally means “rule by desks or
offices,” a definition that highlights the often impersonal character of bureaucracies. Even
though bureaucracies sometimes seem inefficient or wasteful, setting up a bureaucracy helps
ensure that thousands of people work together in compatible ways by defining everyone’s roles
within a hierarchy.
What Bureaucrats Do
Government bureaucrats perform a wide variety of tasks. The job of a bureaucrat is to
implement government policy, to take the laws and decisions made by elected officials and put
them into practice. Some bureaucrats implement policy by writing rules and regulations,
whereas others administer policies directly to people.
Bureaucratic Functions
One useful approach to understanding what bureaucrats do is to examine the actions of
different governmental agencies.
Functions of Bureaucracies
Function
Promote the public good
Protect the nation
Sustain a strong economy
Bureaucratic Agencies
National Institutes of Health, Environmental
Protection Agency, Federal Bureau of
Investigation
Armed Forces, Coast Guard, Central
Intelligence Agency
Federal Reserve Bank, Export-Import Bank,
Securities and Exchange Commission
Bureaucratic Models
Scholars have proposed three different models to explain how bureaucracies function
Weberian Model
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According to the Weberian model, created by German sociologist Max Weber, a bureaucracy
always displays the following characteristics:
 Hierarchy: A bureaucracy is set up with clear chains of command so that everyone has a
boss. At the top of the organization is a chief who oversees the entire bureaucracy.
Power flows downward.

Specialization: Bureaucrats specialize in one area of the issue their agency covers. This
allows efficiency because the specialist does what he or she knows best, and then
passes the matter along to another specialist.

Division of labor: Each task is broken down into smaller tasks, and different people work
on different parts of the task.

Standard operating procedure (SOP): Also called formalized rules, SOP informs workers
about how to handle tasks and situations. Everybody always follows the same
procedures to increase efficiency and predictability so that the organization will produce
similar results in similar circumstances. SOP can sometimes make bureaucracy move
slowly because new procedures must be developed as circumstances change.
Acquisitive Model
The acquisitive model can be distinguished by the following characteristics:
 Expansion: Leaders of bureaucracies always seek to expand the size and budget of their
agency.

Turf wars: Bureaucrats defend their responsibilities, resources, and jurisdiction from
potential competitors. Even though government bureaucrats do not work for profit,
agency heads still jockey for power and try to outdo one another.
Monopolistic Model
Proponents of the monopolistic model believe that bureaucracies can be distinguished by two
characteristics:
1. Monopoly: Federal bureaucracies face no real competition and therefore act like any
other monopolies.
2. Inefficiency: Bureaucracies use their resources ineffectively because they do not have to
compete.
The Federal Bureaucracy
The federal bureaucracy is huge: roughly 2.6 million employees, plus many freelance
contractors. Everybody in the bureaucracy works to administer the law. For the most part, the
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executive branch manages the federal bureaucracy. Although the executive branch controls
the majority of the federal bureaucracy, the legislative and judiciary branches also have some
influence. Congress, for example, controls the Library of Congress, the Congressional Research
Service, and the Government Accountability Office, among other bureaucracies. Through its
power of oversight, Congress also monitors the federal bureaucracy to make sure that it acts
properly. The courts sometimes get involved in the bureaucracy when issues of law and
constitutionality arise, such as when a civil service regulation is violated or if an agency
oversteps its jurisdiction.
There are five types of organizations in the federal bureaucracy:
1. Cabinet departments
2. Independent executive agencies
3. Independent regulatory agencies
4. Government corporations
5. Presidential commissions
The executive office consists of fifteen departments. Each department is headed by a secretary.
Independent Executive Agencies
Independent executive agencies are line organizations that do not fall under the control of any
one department. Presidents often like new agencies to be independent so that they have more
direct control over them. Congress decides how to fit new independent executive agencies
within the existing bureaucracy.
Independent Regulatory Agencies
An independent regulatory agency is an agency outside of the cabinet departments that makes
and enforces rules and regulations. The president nominates people to regulatory boards and
agencies, and the Senate confirms them. Generally, these bureaucrats serve set terms in office
and can only be removed for illegal behavior. Regulatory agencies tend to function
independently from the elected parts of government, which gives them the freedom to make
policy without any political interference.
Government Corporations
Some federal agencies resemble corporations in that they function in a businesslike manner
and charge clients for their services. Government corporations differ in some important ways
from private corporations. For example, government corporations do not have stockholders
and do not pay dividends if they make a profit; instead, the government corporation retains all
profits.
Examples: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which guarantees deposits up to
$100,000, and the Post Office are government corporations.
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Presidential Commissions
Presidents regularly appoint presidential commissions to investigate problems and make
recommendations. Although most of these commissions are temporary, some are permanent,
such as the Commission of Civil Rights. Presidents are not bound to follow the
recommendations of commissions, even though they often do.
Becoming a Bureaucrat
Political Appointees
The president can appoint approximately 2,000 people to top positions within the federal
bureaucracy. These people are known as political appointees.
Choosing Political Appointees
The president usually receives nominations and suggestions from party official, political allies,
close advisers, academics, and business leaders on whom to appoint to bureaucratic offices.
Sometimes the president appoints loyal political allies to key positions, particularly
ambassadorships. This tradition is referred to as the spoils system or simply patronage.
Civil Servants
In the late nineteenth century, members of the Progressive Party argued that most government
jobs should be filled with skilled experts, not unskilled political appointees. In other words,
they argued that competence rather than political loyalty should determine who holds these
jobs. The civil service consists of the federal employees hired for their knowledge and
experience, and it constitutes most of the federal bureaucracy.
The Emergence of the Federal Civil Service
For much of the nineteenth century, presidents routinely hired political supporters to work in
the bureaucracy. Over time, the federal bureaucracy became corrupt and inept, leading to calls
for reform. In 1883, Congress passed the Pendleton Act, which put limits on the spoils system
for the first time. The act also created the Civil Service Commission, the first central personnel
agency for the federal government. At first, civil service rules applied to only about 10 percent
of federal employees, but since then Congress has expanded the civil service, so that it now
encompasses about 90 percent of the bureaucracy.
President Jimmy Carter’s Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 reformed and clarified the rules of
the civil service. The law created the Office of Personnel Management to replace the Civil
Service Commission, and it also established the Merit Systems Protection Board to hear
complaints from employees about violations of the rules.
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Civil Servants
All civil servant applicants must pass an exam that measures skills related to the particular civil
service position they hope to fill. Some civil service exams are general and apply to a wide
range of jobs, whereas others are focused on a particular type of job. The civil service uses the
merit system, meaning that it hires and promotes civil servants based on their technical skills.
Most civil servants are also protected from political pressure. The best example of this
protection is the fact that it is extremely difficult to fire civil servants. In theory, this job
security prevents politicians from firing those who disagree with them. In practice, however, it
makes it hard to fire incompetent employees.
The Bureaucracy and Policymaking
Bureaucrats put government policy into practice, and therefore the federal bureaucracy has a
large impact on policymaking. In order to get their policies passed, the president and Congress
must work with the bureaucracy. Controlling the bureaucracy can be difficult for the following
reasons:
 Size: The president cannot monitor everyone or even every group within the
bureaucracy, so much of what bureaucrats do goes unmonitored.

Expertise of bureaucrats: The people who administer policy often know much more
about those issues than the president or members of Congress. This expertise gives the
bureaucrats power.

Civil service laws: Firing bureaucrats, even for incompetence, is very difficult.

Clientele groups: Many federal agencies provide services to thousands of people, and
those people sometimes rally to defend the agency.

Policy implementation: When Congress creates a new program, it does not establish all
the details on how the policy will be implanted. Instead, Congress passes enabling
legislation, which grants power to an agency to work out the specifics. Although the
agency must stay within some bounds, it has a great deal of latitude on determining
how to carry out the wishes of Congress.
Rule-making
The federal bureaucracy makes rules that affect how programs operate, and these rules must
be obeyed, just as if they were laws. The rule-making process for government agencies occurs
in stages. After Congress passes new regulatory laws, the agency charged with implementing
the law proposes a series of rules, which are published in the Federal Register. Interests parties
can comment or the rules, either at public hearings or by submitting documents to the agency.
After the agency publishes the final regulations, it must wait sixty days before enforcing those
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rules. During that time Congress can review and change the rules if it desires. If Congress
makes no changes, the rules go into effect at the end or sixty days.
Federal regulations affect many groups of people, who have often challenged those regulations
in court. Because litigation is a slow and expensive way to change regulations, Congress passed
the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990 to limit the need for litigation by opening the
rulemaking process to those affected by it. The act encouraged federal agencies to engage in
negotiated rule-making. If an agency agrees to the proposed regulations, for example, it
publishes the proposals in the Federal Register and then participates in a negotiating
committee overseen by a third party. Agreements reached by the committee are then open to
the normal public review process. Parties committed to negotiated rule-making agree not to
sue over the rules.
Deregulation and Reregulation
Since the Carter Administration in the late 1970s, the federal government has frequently sought
to remove regulations established by earlier administrations, a practice called deregulation.
The federal bureaucracy usually carries out deregulation, often with encouragement from the
president. Sometimes the federal government changes its regulations significantly, a process
known as reregulation.
Bureaucrats as Policymakers
In theory, federal bureaucracies merely carry out the policies enacted by Congress and the
president. In practice, however, many scholars argue that the bureaucracy plays a significant
role in federal policymaking via iron triangles and issue networks.
Iron Triangles
An iron triangle is an alliance of people from three groups: a congressional subcommittee that
deals with an issue, and private interest groups. Often, the members of the triangle know each
other well, and people frequently move from one corner of the triangle to another. The
members of the iron triangle work together to create policy that serves their interests.
Example: An iron triangle might form around a particular weapons system. The Defense
Department may want a new weapons system, members of congressional Armed Services
Committees may want to look tough on defense by voting for a new system, and military
suppliers want to make money by selling weapons systems. Therefore, it is in the interests of
all three to push Congress to authorize the new weapons system.
Issue Networks
An issue network is a group of individuals who support a specific policy, not a broader issue.
The three parts of the iron triangle are often parts of a single issue network, but other people
may also be a part of the network, including experts, scholars, and the media. The influence of
issue networks is similar to that of iron triangles: By working together, members of an issue
network can shape and determine policy.
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The Bureaucracy and Policymaking
Sunshine Laws
In 1976, Congress passed the Government in the Sunshine Act, which required that the public
have access to the proceedings and actions of the bureaucracies. Such openness is meant to
encourage the public to complain about hostile or inefficient bureaucrats. Sunshine laws
require government agencies to hold public meetings, top secret matters, and personnel
matters that could be embarrassing can remain secret.
Sunset Provisions
Sometimes Congress passes laws with an expiration date, known as sunset provisions, because
the laws will end as a specified time. For a program to continue past its expiration date, the
agency must demonstrate that the program achieves its goals in an efficient manner. Sunset
provisions make bureaucrats accountable for their performance: Only successful programs get
renewed.
Privatization
Privatization occurs when private companies perform services that were formerly handled by a
government agency. Supporters of privatization argue that private profit-driven organizations
are more efficient than government bureaucracies because companies have strong incentives
to be as efficient as possible. Privatization has been somewhat successful, particularly for
services provided by local governments (such as trash collection). Some services do not
translate well from public to private, however, and some – such as national defense – cannot
be transferred to private firms at all.
Increased Incentives for Efficiency
Critics complain that government bureaucrats lack incentives to perform efficiently. To
overcome inefficiency, some state governments have started offering more incentives to
employees, such as financial rewards tied to job performance. The president and Congress
have also required government agencies to list specific goals, and the agencies then receive
feedback about how well those goals have been met.
Protecting Whistleblowers
A whistleblower is a person who exposes corruption of inefficiency. As a result of blowing the
whistle, some people have been demoted or fired. Congress has sought to protect
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whistleblowers because whistleblowers increase accountability by exposing problems. Despite
the laws passed by Congress, many whistleblowers still suffer because of their actions.